IVC art instructors strut their stuff at first of the season showing

Imperial Valley College faculty members participate in art show at IVC’s Juanita Salazar Lowe Gallery on Thursday.

IMPERIAL-Â Imperial Valley College (IVC) hosted an Art Faculty Show this Thursday, to showcase the work of several professors from the Arts Department. A group of IVC student-musicians performed as a live band, while others were encouraged to view the art, converse, and appreciate the arts and their professor-artists.

Carol Hegarty, an art professor at IVC and curator of the Juanita Salazar Lowe Gallery, spear-headed the event after the gallery committee and art students decided it was time for a faculty show.

â€œItâ€™s really interesting for the students to see what their instructors are doing,â€ said Hegarty.

Faculty members displayed their artwork with gratification, and some put their art up for sale. Hegarty, however, did not wish to sell any of her items as she planned to use them for future art shows. Many instructers feel teaching their students that art has commercial value is an important aspect as a business enterprise.

Hegartyâ€™s display included Asian inspired works of nature that were painted with pearlescent and metallic colors. She painted abstract flowers on watercolor papers handmade in India.

Jorge Estrada, another professor at IVC, displayed several of his photographic works. He was inspired by Julianâ€™s apple pie store, the San Pedro Martir Mountains, and the Arizona desert.

â€œI hope you enjoy the beauty of those places through my artwork,â€ Estrada said.

Hegarty wished to encourage other artists to come to the gallery and to the art shows.

â€œThe fun part is coming out to see it. If youâ€™re curious about something, you can ask the artists here. You may find something you want to do. Itâ€™s good to get out and meet people with similar interests,â€ said Hegarty.

Alan Leal, a student at IVC, joined the art classes at IVC because he enjoyed drawing cartoons. He said itâ€™s important for people to know the basics of art, and the classes at IVC teach those concepts.

â€œI like art. Anyone that likes art should come to the art gallery and see the art. They can see if something inspires them,â€ said Leal.

According to Hegarty, the gallery committee tries to host an art show at least three times per semester. That typically rounds out to one art show each month.

Hegarty hopes to see more artists submit their work for display at the gallery art shows. She also encourages those who are curious about art to visit the gallery and speak to the artists.